A Fiordland crested penguin is on the mend at a Dunedin penguin hospital after undergoing four operations for a brutal barracouta bite.
The Fiordland native was the first penguin to be operated on at the hospital which will be run in the Otago Polytechnic’s School of Veterinary Nursing for the next five weeks.
Wildlife veterinarian Dr Lisa Argilla said the penguin did not need further surgeries to fix the gash to its stomach.
"The wound has closed now and we have to see if it heals properly and the feathers grow back."
Penguin feathers were like a wetsuit, and if there was an opening water would come in, she said.
Despite just getting out of surgery, the penguin gobbled down two fish and snapped at volunteers with a healthy dash of attitude.
The hospital was near capacity with feathered patients, Dr Argilla said.
Patients included five yellow-eyed penguins and a kereru with a head injury.
The bitten penguin would continue to be monitored and sent to Penguin Place for further rehabilitation, she said.
